'I will never go back to sea': 11 fishermen released from Indian captivity reunite with families in Karachi

KARACHI: 11 Pakistani fishermen, after spending several years in Indian jails for unknowingly crossing over to Indian waters while fishing, were reunited with their families in Karachi on Friday morning. The men were handed over through the Wagah Border by Indian authorities some two months ago. On Friday, the Edhi Foundation brought them from Lahore to Karachi by ambulance. They arrived at 11:30am at the Edhi Centre near Merewether Tower, where their families had been waiting since morning. It was a touching reunion where the fishermen, having been jailed for between four and nine years, finally met their families. Some, like Kamal Hassan Bengali of Machhar Colony, who was in jail in India for eight years, returned to meet new family members. But his eyes grew moist knowing that his mother would not be there to greet him when he got home.

“The day our boat was captured by the Indian coast guard was the day my mother passed away. I only learned about her passing through a letter which reached me three years later,” Kamal told Dawn , as he held his eight-year-old niece Areeba close. “I am meeting her (Areeba) for the first time,” he added, smiling through tears. Pakistani fishermen reunite with families at Edhi Centre on October 30. — White Star/ Fahim Siddiqi Asked how his boat crossed over to the other side, he said that they experienced an engine failure, following which the boat drifted towards Indian waters. All of Kamal’s seven brothers and his sister have gotten married in the last eight years. His sister Manzoora told Dawn that with their mother gone, the responsibility of finding a good match for him now fell on her shoulders. “I will get him married soon now that he is back home,” she said. Noor Nabi Bengali, also of Machhar Colony, who was also with Kamal on…